A police officer was shot dead at Wahibugh in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district today, in the most recent incident of terrorists targeting security personnel in the state.

Official sources said the victim, Sub-Inspector Imtiyaz Ahmad Mir, was killed by unidentified gunmen who waylaid his car near Romshi Nallah around 4:20 pm. Mr Mir, a resident of Sontbugh, was posted in the Criminal Investigation Department wing of the police in Srinagar’s Sheergadi area.

Terrorists have lately begun targeting local policemen as a means to cut off support for the administration. Three policemen were abducted and killed in Shopian’s Kapran village late last month. The incident was condemned by separatists and political parties alike, and less than 24 hours later, India called off talks with Pakistan in protest.

Terror group Hizbul Mujahideen had threatened local police personnel of dire consequences unless they quit their jobs by September 19. A week earlier, suspected militants killed a 45-year-old armyman who had come home to Kulgam to mourn the death of his teenage son.

Sniper attacks by Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists have also emerged as a new source of concern for security personnel in the Valley, with the army suffering three casualties since mid-September. Kashmir police said they are “re-calibrating their strategy” to thwart such sneak attacks in the future.

Three army personnel were killed in separate incidents, one of which involved sniping, between October 25 and 26. They were identified as Rajendra Singh (22), who was hit by a stone thrown by a protester; Lance Naik Brajesh Kumar (32), who sustained fatal splinter injuries during an encounter in Sopore’s Malgunipura; and Sepoy Ngamsiamliana (23), who died to a sniper bullet at an army camp in Tral.